“Because you—”
“…told them the truth,” Amo said with a shrug. “White should own up to his achievements.”
I slapped Amo’s shoulder hard but he only looked surprised.
“Does Dad know you went behind his back?” I asked.
Amo tilted his head. “Why? Do you plan on ratting on me?”
“No. But you should tell him. If you don’t, he might put the blame on someone else and they could get killed for it. You obviously won’t.”
Something in his expression set an alarm off in my head. “Don’t tell me Dad knew?”
Amo reached for the bottle on the bench and took a long gulp, obviously buying time. That was all the answer I needed.
“I can’t believe it!” I raged. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this furious. “Who else? Matteo no doubt. Romero? Growl? Maybe everyone except the helpless stupid Vitiello princess?”
“Spoiled princess,” Amo corrected in a miserable attempt at humor.
I turned my back on him or I would have punched him. I wanted to scream in anger, but at the same time, I felt like crying, because yet again things had been kept from me and decisions had been made without consulting with me. “You won’t ever try to have Maddox killed again, understood?” My voice was ice cold, laced with fury and not as shaky as I felt inside.
I slanted Amo a warning look. He regarded me for a long time then he shook his head with a deep sigh. “Listen to me for once and drop White before he ruins everything you worked all your life for, or before he breaks our family.”
“You aren’t someone I’d go to for relationship advice on any day of the year, but definitely not today. And you can believe me when I say that nothing can destroy our family, except for ourselves, if we start lying to each other and losing our unwavering trust in each other. Because I did trust you absolutely Amo, until today.”
Amo looked seriously taken aback by my words. “You can trust me absolutely, Marci. I’d die for you. When I walked into the biker’s den, I was ready to die to save you from these bastards.”
Unwanted tears pressed against my eyeballs. I had seen the truth of these words in Amo’s eyes that day. “And Maddox was ready to die for me as well.”
“That’s his only redeeming quality.”
I shook my head. “Please, try to overcome your hatred for him, for me.”
I didn’t wait for his reply, and instead turned on my heel and headed upstairs toward Growl’s car. I plopped down in the passenger seat. “Let’s go to the Sphere.”
Before Growl could pull away from the curb, Amo appeared on the sidewalk, still only in gym shorts and a new shirt. He knocked at the back door and Growl unlocked it so my brother could slip in. “I’m coming with you. We should figure this out as a family.”
“Will Mom and Valerio be there as well?” I asked sarcastically.
“Mom didn’t know, so don’t be mad at her.”
Of course, she didn’t. Dad often kept things from Mom to protect her so she wouldn’t get upset. Most of the time, Mom figured things out anyway but kept Dad in the belief that she was as clueless as he wanted her to be, but I didn’t want to play that game. I didn’t need protection from any truth. I could handle anything and today I’d finally make Dad realize it. Dad saw me as another version of Mom, another fragile female to protect, and while I loved Mom and was glad for the traits I’d inherited from her, many aspects of my personality were Dad. He didn’t want to see it, but he needed to if I really wanted to have a chance living an autonomous life and becoming part of the business… and to be with Maddox, especially be with Maddox.
I parked in the back alley beside the Sphere and got off my bike. I wasn’t sure what Luca’s orders were but I felt a hint of wariness as I approached the bouncer at the entrance. His stance became alert the moment he spotted me.
I hoped Marcella’s confrontation with her brother wouldn’t take too long. For one, I wanted to see her again, and I really wasn’t looking forward to a one-on-one with Luca Vitiello. Even if I hadn’t mentioned anything to Marcella, I had my suspicions about her old man’s involvement. He wanted me dead and was looking for ways to have me killed without pulling the trigger himself.
The bouncer said something in the direction of an earpiece at his ear, then nodded. “The boss is expecting you in his office.”
“I’m good. I’ll have a smoke while I wait for Marcella and Growl.”
The man’s face darkened. “The boss wants you now, so in you go.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You can try to drag me inside but I should tell you, I’m going to kick your ass.”